Spoon.



PATENTED AUG. ll, 1908.

M. V. PUTNAM.

SPOON.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25, 1907.

llllllill @9i h1 anno MARY V. PUTNAM, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

SPOON.

Specizlicationv of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application led April 25, 1907. Serial No. 370,237.

To all who/m, it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, MARY V. PUTNAM,

citizen ofthe United States, residin at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans an State of Louisiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Spoons, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to spoons; and it contemplates the provision of a spoon designed more articularly for admlnistering medicine to c 'ldren and embodying a bowl of rubber or e uivalent material that -is nonabsorbent andl hence not liable to become impregnated with medicine, and that is, at the same time, soft and resilient so that in the event of a child biting the bowl, as freuently hap ens, the bowl will not be inented or ot erwise impaired, and no injury will result to the child in way of cutting or hurtin its gums or breaking its teeth. A spoon aving a bowl of the character stated 1s also advantageous because medieineis not liable by chemlcal action to deteriorate the bowl, and the bowl is not subject to corrosion like afmetallic bowl or calculated to break china or glass against which it strikes.

With the foregoing in mind, the invention will be fully understood from the following descriptiony and claims when the same are read in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,

parts in both views of ,C is the dowel pin o Figure 1 is a plan view of the spoon constltutlng the preferred embodiment of m invention. Fig. 2 is a view, partly in longltudinal vertical section and partly in side elevation, of the same.

Similar letters designate corresponding the drawings, referrin to which:

is the bowl of my novel spoon.

B is the spoon handle which is preferably,

though not necessaril? of suitable wood, and

wood, metal or other desired material, that `is referably employed to effect or assist in e ecting connection of the bowl to the handle.

The bowl A is preferably of soft rubber, though it may, without lnvolvingv departure from the scope of my invention, be formed of any material which like soft rubber is non-absorbent, and is soft and resilient. The non-absorbent quality of the-bowl precludes its becoming impregnated with medicine, While its softness and resilienc obviates the liability of the gums or teet of a child being injured in the event of the child biting the bowl as frequently happens. Moreover, it will be noted that a child is enabled to suckrmedicine in a natural manner from the rubber bowl as from a nipple, and that the rubber bowl is not subject to corrosion and is not liable to crack chinaware or glass against which it strikes. It will be noted at this point that the bowl A is provided with an integral shank for connection to the handle, and that in order to possess the ractical advantages ascribed to 1t, it is abso utely necessary that the bowl A beformed entirely of a material that is at once non-absorbent, soft and resilient, and that the bowl be free of any other material to which end the integral shank contributes. In addition to the advantages hereinbefore ascribed to my novel spoon, it will be appreciated that the spoon is simple and susceptible of being easily and cheaply produced; l

- also, that because of its lack of value it is not liable to attract the cupidity of unscrupulous persons.

I am well aware of the dipper disclosed in the Letters-Patent granted to Thomas Smith, Jr., under date of Dec. 16, 1862, and numbered 37,181, and I make no claim to anythin in common with the said dipper.

WIiat I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a spoon comprising a bowl of soft, resilient and nonabsorbent material having an integral shank, a handle, anda lon 'tudinal connecting pin extending between t e shank and handle and j oinin the two parts together.

2. s an article of manufacture, a s oon comprising a handle, and a bowl forme entirely of a material that is, at once, nonabsorbent, soft, and resilient; the said bowl being joined at one end to the handle and being elsewhere entirely free.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit-A nesses.

MARY V`. PUTNAM. Witnesses OsoAR L. PUTNAM, OsoAR P. GREEN. 

